September 15, 2016

Ten Brief Tips on Essential Targeting, Messaging and Media for Democratic Candidates at All Levels in 2016

1. Forget the big picture, macro policy stuff. No one except committed strong Democrats (who are already voting for you) believe the Democrats are competent enough to handle running the economy or foreign policy. The strongest suit the Democrats have among critical swing voters, like most voters generally, is who they are for -- regular working and middle income people -- not how skilled and capable they are in governing.

August 04, 2016

We’ve all gotten the emails. Bernie, Hillary and Barack boasting about those days when they bring in a million dollars online. We read about the millions of people giving to their campaigns. And, some Democratic Municipal Officials have tried to make it work for them. They’ve hired consultants and staffers, paid them thousands of dollars a month. And, because they’re good at their job, many have seen returns. Many see modest raises of $600, $800, $1,200 even more a month. We see progress, but, month over month, we continue to pay that staffer or consultant more money than we bring in.

The North Carolina Chapter of Democratic Municipal Officials (NC DMO) today renewed its call for the full repeal of HB 2, calling the legislation “a welcome wagon for bigotry”, and condemned the NC General Assembly’s transfer of $500,000 from disaster relief funds to the legal costs of defending the legislation.

June 09, 2016

How do you get started when you're running for office for the first time, or re-launching your campaign for re-election? Here's our list to help guide candidates and would-be candidates during the crucial phase between "thinking about it" and launching. What you do now can give you the boost you need for a successful launch, and get you on track to win.

1. Your list is the heart muscle of your campaign. So strengthen and build it as much as you can before you launch.

You'll want to pull together all the old lists you have (especially important to log everything at the end of campaign so it's easy to reuse later). Even if you're starting from scratch, you have a list: your friends, family, coworkers etc. Now is the time to be combing through stacks of business cards and inputting the info, getting your personal email address book, work email address book, and your cellphone contacts all synched. You'll wind up using this list for your announcement email, and also for your initial fundraising call time sessions.

April 28, 2016

SOCIAL DEBATE: HOW TO USE FACEBOOK FOR A CONTROVERSIAL CONVERSATION (AND NOT TRIP IN THE MUD)

Elected officials are no strangers to landing smack in the middle of heated discussions and differing opinions. With social media as our new leading form of communication, these moments happen in real time, all of the time, and in front of an eternal audience.

Still, don’t let that scare you from posting about controversial topics. If it affects your community or your constituents, you want to play a role in constructive dialogue. These intense back and forth discussions often lead to some of our most effective legislation.

April 14, 2016

Building an Online Presence for the Era of Perpetual Campaigning

It’s now more important than ever for Democratic municipal officials to maintain a consistent online presence. We’re living in the age of the never-ending election cycle, where attacks don’t end in November and competition for attention is always fierce. By engaging online, maintaining your website, and contributing to social media throughout your term, you can ensure that your constituents have the right image of you before you launch your reelection campaign.

Consistency is key to maintaining control of this image and your message as well. Blogging regularly, sharing news on social media, updating your website, and steadily building your mailing list are all invaluable ways of keeping on message. They also serve to solidify a positive image of yourself as a leader in your community.

While it is important to remain consistent, it is equally important to know which tactics are a constructive use of your time. The following pointers will help you start building and maintaining your year-round image and message.